Warriors fall to Wizards

By Diamond Leung dleung@bayareanewsgroup.com

Posted:
01/28/2014 10:00:59 PM PST

Updated:
01/28/2014 11:46:17 PM PST

OAKLAND -- The Warriors played down to the level of the Washington Wizards.

That was what Warriors coach Mark Jackson said he witnessed Tuesday, and with Stephen Curry missing two potential game-tying 3-point attempts in the final minute, the Wizards came away with an 88-85 win at Oracle Arena.

"Right now, we're a team that if a championship-caliber team comes in here or an elite team comes in here, we play at that level," Jackson said. "And if a bad team or an average team comes in, then we play at that level. We are not good enough to allow who comes in here to determine how hard we play.

"We didn't play at a championship-level intensity, and that's the disappointing part. Good or great teams in this league, it doesn't matter who's on the other side."

Curry scored a game-high 23 points but was forced into an off-balance, left-handed shot attempt before the buzzer sounded as Washington celebrated a win that got the Wizards to the .500 mark.

The Warriors have lost three of four home games before the Los Angeles Clippers come to town on Thursday.

"I think we're just coming in and just thinking the crowd's going to win us a game," center Andrew Bogut said. "I don't think we're in a position like most people say we are where we can mark in the calendar who we're going to beat."

Bradley Beal scored 18 of his 20 points in the second half to lead the Wizards, helping them go on a 20-2 run after the Warriors had led in the second quarter by as many as 10 points.

Advertisement

The Warriors committed 19 turnovers, shot 37.5 percent from the field and were outrebounded 56-47.

"It was a bad performance and really disappointing," said Curry, who was 8 for 23 from the field and committed six turnovers.

"It seems like every night it's been something different."

Klay Thompson scored 13 points, and David Lee added 11 while struggling with a 2-for-10 shooting performance. Nene had 16 points for Washington, and John Wall added 15.

Curry hit a 3-pointer to pull the Warriors within 85-83, and Lee tied the score with a layup, but then Wall connected from long range for the go-ahead bucket.

Beal had hit three consecutive 3-pointers to give Washington a 75-68 lead in the fourth quarter, continuing the Wizards' hot shooting after teammate Martell Webster had connected from long range with 11.7 seconds left in the third.

Golden State had previously held the momentum in the third after going on a 12-0 run while Washington spent more than six minutes without a field goal.

Lee struggled mightily, starting the game shooting 1 for 8 from the field and at one point in the third quarter losing the ball three times for turnovers in the span of four Warriors possessions during the Wizards' 20-2 run.

The Warriors led 49-45 at halftime, allowing the Wizards to score the final six points of the second quarter.

Golden State got 29 bench points, including nine from backup point guard Jordan Crawford. Marreese Speights had seven points and matched a season high with nine rebounds.

Harrison Barnes assisted on back-to-back dunks from Draymond Green and Speights, with an excited Speights coming back down the court on the next possession to hit a rare 3-pointer in the second quarter.

Barnes was asked at shootaround about his overall performance this season heading into the All-Star break and spoke of a need to be more consistent.

"I haven't been able to accomplish that," Barnes said, "but as a team, we've been able to do well.

Despite seeing his shooting percentage dip from his rookie season, Barnes said he continues to feel good about his shot.

"Coming in to do work every single day, putting in the time, so I'm confident shots will go in," he said.